ALVERTON, Pa. – No. 5 seed Penn State Altoona women's soccer earned a first round Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Tournament win on Saturday afternoon, defeating No. 4 Pitt-Greensburg 3-1 at Southmoreland High School.

It marked the first postseason victory for the Penn State Altoona women's soccer team since October 31, 2015, when the Lady Lions pulled out a 2-1 road win at Pitt-Greensburg in the first round of the conference tournament.

With Saturday's win, the Lady Lions (9-7-2, 4-4-1 AMCC) advance in the AMCC Tournament. Next, the team will travel to top-seeded Penn State Behrend for an AMCC semifinal round game on Wednesday, October 31 at 5:00 p.m.

Sydney Emershaw (Dallas, PA/Dallas), who entered the contest with no career goals scored, led the way for the Lady Lions with two goals. Sadie McConnell (New Enterprise, PA/Northern Bedford) scored her team-leading 13th goal of the season, and Kierra Irwin (Altoona, PA/Altoona) recorded two assists.

Riley Barrett (Sunbury, PA/Shikellamy) made eight saves between the pipes to pick up her team-best sixth win of the season for Penn State Altoona.

Pitt-Greensburg (9-8-1, 5-4 AMCC) wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, as Bri Burgunder dribbled along the goal line and beat the keeper with a shot at the 2:39 mark.

But Emershaw netted her first collegiate goal at 11:19 to tie the score 1-1, curling a free kick into the top right corner of the net. Emershaw struck again at 26:05, scoring the go-ahead goal on an assist from Irwin.

Meanwhile, Barrett helped to hold Pitt-Greensburg at bay during a busy first period, during which she made five of her eight saves.

McConnell added an insurance goal for Penn State Altoona early in the second half, taking a pass from Irwin and firing a shot from inside 18 yards that beat the goalkeeper at 52:42 to give the Lady Lions a 3-1 lead.

Pitt-Greensburg finished the game with a 23-8 advantage over Penn State Altoona in total shots attempted, including a 9-4 edge in shots on goal. The Lady Bobcats also held an 8-2 lead in corner kicks.

Emershaw and McConnell each finished with two shots on goal for Penn State Altoona. McConnell had three total shots attempted, while Emershaw had two.

Now, the Penn State Altoona women's soccer team will look for its first AMCC semifinal round victory since 2011. The Lady Lions will enter the conference semifinals boasting their highest win total (9) since the 2011 season, when the team had 14 overall wins.